The present application relates to combined receipt and label rolls, and is particularly directed to a combined receipt and label roll having optimal adhesive patch patterns and a method of manufacturing thereof.
A known combined receipt and label roll 10 is shown in FIGS. 1-3. The combined roll 10 comprises a continuous web 12 of material wound in a spiral around a core 14. The web 12 includes a substrate 16 (FIG. 3) having a front side 18 and a back side 20 opposite the front side. A pattern of adhesive patches 51 are disposed on the back side 20 of the substrate 16. The adhesive pattern 51 covers a portion of the back side 20, and extends along a longitudinal running axis 24 (FIG. 2) of the web 12.
A thermal-sensitive coating 26 is disposed on the front side 18 of the substrate 16. A release coating 28 is disposed on the thermal sensitive coating 26, and is also disposed on the front side 18 of the substrate layer 16. The release coating 28 prevents adhesive 51 on the back side 20 of the substrate 16 from sticking to the front side 18 when the web 12 is wound on the core 14. Sense marks 23 are disposed between patches of adhesive 51. Sense marks 23 tell a printer where a cut should be made to the web 12 to provide an individual combined receipt and label.
During use of the combined roll 10 of FIGS. 1-3 in a direct thermal printer (not shown), the printer thermally images a portion of the thermal-sensitive coating layer 26 to provide receipt information on the thermally-imaged portion. A movable cutting blade of the printer then cuts the web 12 at one of the sense marks 23 in cross-section to provide a combined receipt and label 30 as shown in FIG. 4. Alternatively, the web 12 may be cut in cross-section by a user manually tearing it against a stationary cutting blade of the printer to provide the combined receipt and label 30.
In an example use of the combined receipt and label 30 of FIG. 4, a retail merchant (such as a fast food restaurant) attaches the combined receipt and label 30 by way of the adhesive 51 to a purchased item (such as an order made by a retail customer in the fast food restaurant). The attached combined receipt and label 30 functions as a temporary label for the merchant to identify the order to be delivered to the particular customer. After the customer receives the order from the merchant, the customer removes the combined receipt and label 30 and can keep it as a permanent receipt of the order transaction.
A drawback of the combined roll 30 of FIGS. 1-3 is that print quality can be significantly reduced when higher viscosity adhesive needs to be used to provide a desired higher adhesive tack. Adhesive tack can be increased by increasing adhesive viscosity. However, adhesive that has been designed to run at a certain viscosity becomes unstable when it has to run at higher viscosity. In addition, the higher viscosity adhesive may be difficult or impossible to flow through an adhesive pump. The higher viscosity adhesive also results in accumulation of adhesive on print heads of printers. The accumulated adhesive blocks printing elements within print heads of printers, and thereby reduces print quality during printing. Accumulated adhesive may also cause jamming during printing. It would be desirable to provide a combined receipt and label roll in which adhesive accumulation is eliminated or at least reduced.